Pump dispenser package

ABSTRACT

A container for fluent material having a nozzle for dispensing the material with the nozzle being moved into dispensing position and also being actuated by a slidably mounted container cover. The container may be, for instance, a pressurized container for dispensing an aerosol product or a pump container equipped with, for example, a ball check valve for dispensing a fluent mass material.

RELATED APPLICATION FOR U.S. PATENT

This is a continuation-in-part application for U.S. patent of U.S.patent application assigned Ser. No. 186,262, filed on Apr. 26, 1988 andissued into U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,723.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to pump or pressurized dispensers forfluent materials, and more particularly to a container from which thefluent material is discharged by a pump or valve stem actuated by thecontainer cover.

BACKGROUND

There are prior patents in which the squeezing of an elastic container,or pressing of a plunger into an upper portion of the container forces afluent mass through a discharge outlet. See for example, U.S. Pat. Nos.4,474,313; 3,870,200; 3,847,313; 3,371,827; 3,088,636; and 2,361,647;and French Patent No. 1,070,728. There is also a prior patent in which avalve stem off-set eccentrically from the center axis of a pressurizedcontainer is disclosed which can be actuated to dispense an aerosoltherefrom by pressing the activating portion of the cover. See U.S. Pat.No. 3,371,827.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the present invention, a combined pump and nozzle element or nozzleelement mounted on a centrally located valve stem of a pressurizedcontainer via an adaptor can be turned from a closed position to adispensing position and actuated by a movable package cover. Thedischarge nozzle is open continuously but has an outlet shielding memberprotecting the fluent material in the nozzle when it is moved to thestored or closed position. In one embodiment, the viscosity of thefluent material in the container plus the shield causes the fluentmaterial to resist withdrawal back through the nozzle while atmosphericpressure acting upon a follower piston in the container moves the pistonagainst the fluent mass.

In other embodiments of this invention, a fluent material is containedin a body portion with a pump, nozzle and cover combination mounted atits top, or an aerosol material is contained in a pressurized containerwith a centrally located valve stem, nozzle and cover combinationmounted on its top. The cover combination is rotatably mounted on thebody portion of the container so that it may be turned through a halfturn from a nozzle closed position to a nozzle open dispensing position.As to those containers containing a fluent material, the nozzle iscoupled to a pump and cover so that, when the cover is rotated to theopen position, the cover can be pressed up and down moving the nozzleand pump in a pumping motion for dispensing the fluent material from thecontainer. With respect to the pressurized containers, the nozzle iscoupled to an adaptor and cover so that, when the cover is rotated tothe open position, the cover can be depressed moving the nozzle andadaptor in a downward direction to actuate the valve stem for dispensingthe aerosol material from the pressurized container.

Thus, it can be readily appreciated that an unique feature of theinstant invention is to provide a container with a rotatable cover whichis manipulated both for opening and closing the nozzle and fordispensing product from the container. Other and further unique featuresof the present invention will become apparent upon an understanding ofthe illustrative embodiments about to be described, or will be indicatedin the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to hereinwill occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention inpractice.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Exemplary embodiments of the invention have been chosen for purposes ofillustration and description and are shown in the accompanying figures,forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the package of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the package in its openeddispensing condition;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the package coverin its downward or dispensing position with a striped product beingdispensed from the package nozzle;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 1 illustratingthe nozzle in its closed position;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are sectional views based on FIG. 4 showing the nozzle inpartially opened and fully opened positions respectively;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the container taken along line7--7 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a corresponding vertical sectional view with the cover andinterconnected pump in their lowered position and illustrating anotherembodiment incorporating a product striping means within the container;

FIG. 9 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 7 but illustratingan alternative embodiment of the instant invention in combination with aball check valve;

FIG. 9A is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 9 but illustratingan alternative pump and venting arrangement; and

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional view similar to FIG. 7 but illustratingan alternative embodiment of the instant invention in combination with apressurized container.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As illustrated in the figures, the dispenser includes a container 10 ofany suitable material with a container body 11 of cylindrical shapewhich is adapted to contain an aerosol material or a fluent material,such as a cosmetic, lotion, liquid soap or detergent, shampoo, syrup,molasses, honey, liquid cleaning agent, water or other similarmaterials.

As described hereinbelow and illustrated in FIGS. 7-8, a follower 12 ismovable in an upward forward direction, after dispensing a portion ofthe fluent mass or material from the container 10, being caused to moveupwardly in the container 10 a distance corresponding to the volume ofthe fluent material discharged through a nozzle 13. A pump 14 mountedhead 15 is secured to or formed as the forward end of the container body11.

Air at atmospheric pressure shifts the follower or piston 12 in aforward direction and its return movement in the container 10 isprevented by a one-way latch 16 forming part of the piston 12. Thepiston 12 includes a main body 17 having a central hub and an outer rim.The main body 17 may be made of a suitable material, such aspolyethylene, being provided with a forward seal 18 extending laterallyoutwardly.

The seal 18 sealingly engages the inner wall of the cylindricalcontainer body 11 and is forced by the pressure of the fluent mass 19 inthe container 10 to prevent leakage rearwardly past the piston 12.

The latch 16 moves in a forward direction within the container 10 underthe influence of atmospheric pressure, and any tendency of the latch 16to move rearwardly in the container 10 causes the outer ends of thelatch 16 to grip or latch against the inner wall of the container 10.The one-way follower or piston 16 moves forwardly within the container10 but is prevented from moving rearwardly. The one-way latch device 16is made of a suitable flexible material, such as steel, phosphor,bronze, acetal, and the like.

Nozzle 13 comprises a hollow molded plastic member communicating with adownwardly depending hollow pump 14. Pump 14 is slidably mounted in abearing 21 molded on the container head 15. Container head 15 may beseparately molded and attached to the cylindrical body 11, or containerhead 15 and container body 11 may be molded as a unit. The pump 14 isurged toward its raised position by a coil spring 22 positioned betweencontainer head 15 and a flange 23 formed at the junction of nozzle 13and pump 14. When pump 14 is moved downwardly against the force of coilspring 22, the lower portion of pump 14 enters the fluent material 19 incontainer body 11 forcing it upwardly through pump 14 and out of nozzle13. A bead 33 determines the upper position of pump 14.

Package head 15 and cooperating package cover 24, which act to providefor the pumping action as well as the nozzle opening and closingactions, will now be more fully described.

Whether formed integrally with container body 11 or separately,container head 15 has a horizontal end portion 25 closing the top ofcontainer body 11. Extending upwardly from horizontal end portion 25 isan outer cylindrical cover mounting portion 26 which rotatably mountsthe cup shaped package cover 24. Package cover 24 has a top 27 and adepending skirt 28 slidably engaging the cover mounting portion 26 oncontainer head 15 so that package cover 24 may be moved upwardly anddownwardly as well as rotated relative to container head 15.

Package cover 24 has a depending arcuate nozzle control member 29 (FIGS.4 thru 7) with a drive portion 30 adjacent a nozzle opening 31. Rotationof package cover 24 from its closed position, as depicted in FIGS. 1 and4, causes nozzle 13 to move through the opening 31 in member 29 and anopening 32 in package cover 24, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Nozzle 13movement outwardly of container 10 results from the eccentricpositioning of nozzle 13 bearing 21 on container head 15.

A second drive portion 34 on member 29 turns nozzle 13 back to itsclosed position when package cover 24 is rotated back to the closedposition.

A stop and pump controlling member 35 is positioned on package cover 24inwardly of control member 29, as best illustrated in FIGS. 4 thru 7.This upstanding arcuate member 35 has a raised end portion 36 whichterminates the rotation of package cover at 24 its closed position, asillustrated in FIG. 4, by engaging the outer end of nozzle 13. A lowerrail portion 37 of controlling member 35 engages the bottom of nozzle 13to hold it in its raised position in the nozzle closed position, as seenin FIG. 4, as well as during the initial portion of the opening movementas package cover 24 is turned counterclockwise through the positionsillustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 illustrates the partially openedposition and FIG. 6 illustrates the fully opened position of packagecover 24 with nozzle 13 projecting therefrom.

FIG. 5 illustrates nozzle 13 first entering aperture 32 of package cover24 as the nozzle 13 is partially turned toward its dispensing positionand FIG. 6 illustrates nozzle 13 fully extended through aperture 32 inits final dispensing position after a half turn of package cover 24.

A pusher 38 depending downwardly from a central portion of package cover24 operates to force nozzle 13 downwardly during the pumping action, asillustrated in FIG. 8.

In its closed position, opening 32 of nozzle 13 is moved into slidingengagement with the top portion of the cover mounting portion 26. Thisacts as a partial seal for nozzle 13 when package cover 24 is in itsclosed position.

FIG. 8 illustrates package cover 24 in its lowest dispensing positionbut in combination with a package similar to that of FIGS. 1 thru 7 withthe further addition of a product striping element. The striping elementcomprises a generally cylindrical chamber 39 formed at the top ofcontainer body 11 for containing the striping material 40. The stripingmaterial 40 is contained between container body 11 outer walls and thechamber 39 surrounding pump 14. A number of apertures 41 at the top ofthe inner wall pass striping material 40 into the moving fluent material19 as follower 12 moves upwardly after a pumping cycle. In thisembodiment which is also illustrated in FIG. 3, striping material 40 ismixed with the other material in providing a striped pumped product suchas a striped toothpaste. Pump 14 (FIG. 8) is shorter than pump 14 (FIG.7) to provide a space beneath it in its raised position for entry of thestriping material through apertures 41.

In an alternative, pressurized containers or pump containers equippedwith for example ball check valves and dip tubes may be constructed inaccordance with the teachings of the present invention. For instance, inFIG. 9, a pump container designated generally at 50 is shown having anozzle 13 which comprises a hollow molded plastics member communicatingwith a downwardly dependending hollow pump 14. Pump 14 is slideablymounted in a piston chamber 51 on container head 15. Container head 15and container body 11 may be molded as an integral unit, or containerhead 15 may be separately molded and attached to neck portion 60 ofcontainer body 11 via corresponding screw threads 61, 62 provided on theneck portion 60 and container head 15, respectively, as depicted in FIG.9. Pump 14 is urged toward its raised position by a coil spring 22positioned between container head 15 and a register 63 formed at thejunction of nozzle 13 and pump 14. Between container head 15 andcontainer body 11 is a venting gasket 63 and a venting scratch on innersurface 15' of container head 15 (not shown) for venting the interor ofcontainer body 11 to atmosphere. Venting gasket 63 can be formed of anysuitable material, such as foamed plastic, and such venting gaskets arewell known to those versed in this field of art.

The piston chamber 51 as shown in FIG. 9, comprises upper and lowerchambers 52, 53, respectively, in which pump 14 is slidabley mounted. Inupper piston chamber 52, pump 14 is provided with a dual piston seal 54for slideably engaging the inner side walls 55 of upper piston chamber52 when pump 14 is urged toward its raised and lowered positions. Pistonseal 54 may be formed of any suitable material, such as a pliableplastic, and is integrally molded to pump 14. Bottom flange 57 of upperpiston chamber 52 determines the lower position of pump 14.

The lower piston chamber 53, also illustrated in FIG. 9, comprises innerside walls 58 and seat 59. The lower portion of pump 14 is provided withfins 75 arranged in a cruciform cross-section (not shown) for slideablyengaging inner side walls 58 when pump 14 is urged toward its raised andlowered positions. Seat 59 acts in conjunction with bottom flange 57 ofupper piston chamber 52 to determine the lower position of pump 14. Thelower piston chamber 53 further includes a hollow neck 70 and a ball 71in a hollow chamber 72 having openings 95, 96 for communication withlower piston chamber 53 and hollow neck 70, respectively, to form a ballcheck valve 73. Attached to hollow neck 70 is a downwardly dependinghollow dip tube 74. Like container head 15 and container body 11, hollowdip tube 74 and hollow neck 70 may be molded as an integral unit, orhollow dip tube 74 may be separately molded and sealingly secured tohollow neck 70. In addition, while pump 14 is described above as havingfins 75 for slideably engaging inner side walls 58 it should beunderstood that pump 14 can be constructed of any suitable shape orform, such as a solid hollow cylinder or the like, for slideablyengaging inner side walls 58.

In use, package cover 24 is first rotated from its closed position toits open position in a counterclockwise direction for exposing nozzle13, as described in greater detail hereinabove. Once opened, packagecover 24 is pumped, i.e., pushed up and down, so that pusher 38 operatesto force nozzle 13 and pump 14 downwardly and coil spring 22 operates toforce nozzle 13 and pump 14 upwardly during the pumping action. Afterdispensing from nozzle 13 a portion of fluent mass (not shown) fromcontainer body 11, as a result of urging nozzle 13 and pump 14downwardly, as nozzle 13 and pump 14 are urged toward their upperposition via coil spring 22 air at atmospheric pressure shifts thefluent mass in container body 11 upwardly through hollow dip tube 74 andinto lower piston chamber 53 to displace the portion of fluent massdispensed from nozzle 13.

Piston seal 54 sealingly engages inner side walls 55 of upper pistonchamber 52 to prevent leakage of fluent mass upwardly past pump 14. Inaddition, piston seal 54 in conjunction with fins 75 of pump 14, whichengage inner side walls 58 of lower piston chamber 53, prevent air fromentering into container body 11 via piston chamber 51, since fins 75 actto guide pump 14 and prevent piston seal 54 from disengaging the innerside walls 55 during the pumping action. Nevertheless, venting gasket 63permits air to enter into the upper portion of container body 11 for thepurpose of displacing the volume of fluent mass dispensed from nozzle 13during and following the pumping action. As an alternative to ventinggasket 63, a venting orifice (not shown in FIG. 9) may be used in upperpiston chamber 52 to vent the upper portion of container body 11 toatmosphere. In this embodiment, however, venting orifice should bepositioned on upper piston chamber 52 such that when pump 14 is urgedupwardly away from fluent mass 19 in container body 11 it is closed toatmosphere whereas when pump 14 is urged downwardly toward fluent mass19 in container body 11 it is opened to atmosphere.

Once the desired amount of fluent mass 19 has been dispensed from nozzle13, packaged cover 24 is rotated in a clockwise direction from itsopened position to its closed position for retracting and concealingnozzle 13.

As an alternative to pump 14 and piston chamber 51 described in FIG. 9,a pump and piston chamber as illustrated in FIG. 9A may be employed.More particularly, the upper section of pump 14 is equipped with fins 75in cruciform cross section for slideably engaging the inner side walls55 of upper piston chamber 52 and is provided with dual piston seal 54on the lower section thereof for slideably engaging inner side walls 58of lower piston chamber 53 when pump 14 is urged toward its raised andlowered positions during the pumping action. Moreover, venting orifice76 in lower piston chamber 53 may be used in place of venting gasket 63to vent the interior of container body 11 to atmosphere. It shouldtherefore be understood to those versed in this art, especially in viewof the alternative arrangements illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 9A, that theorientation of dual piston seal 54 and fins (guides) 75 and the systemselected to vent container body 11, e.g., a venting gasket or ventingorifice, are not critical to the instant invention and alternativeswhich do not defeat the objectives of the this invention may thereforebe employed.

Turning now to FIG. 10, a pressurized container, such as an "aerosol,"designated generally at 80 is shown having a nozzle 13 which comprises ahollow molded plastic member in communication with channel 81 withinstationary adaptor 82. More particularly, nozzle 13 is mounted on ahollow pivot spout 83 of stationary adaptor 82 which extends upwardlyfrom top surface 84 thereof for permitting nozzle 13 to rotate from aconcealed, retracted position to an exposed, extended position whenpackage cover 24 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction from aclosed to an opened position. Stationary adaptor 82 is further providedwith a bore 85 in the bottom surface 86 for receiving a centrallylocated valve stem 87 of pressurized container body 11 for communicatingcentrally located valve stem 87 with nozzle 13 via channel 81 and hollowpivot spout 83.

As further illustrated in FIG. 10, pressurized container 80 is providedwith a container head 15 having a horizontal end portion 25 adapted tomount onto the outer cylindrical dome 88 of pressurized container body11. Extending upwardly from horizontal end portion 25 is an outercylindrical cover mounting portion 26 which rotatably mounts packagecover 24, as referenced earlier hereinabove. Also extending upwardlyfrom horizontal end portion 25 is a stop or actuation controlling member35 for preventing accidental actuation of valve stem 87 when packagecover 24 is in the closed position, as also previously described hereinand depicted in FIGS. 4 thru 7. Extending inwardly from horizontal endportion 25 is a circumferential rib 89 and lock 90. Container head 15 issecured to outer cylindrical dome 88 of pressurized container body 11 bycircumferential rib 89 and lock 90 which are inserted into thecircumferential collar 91 and onto top 92 on cylindrical dome 88,respectively. As indicated hereinbefore, package cover 24 is providedwith a depending skirt 28 which slidably engages outer cylindricalmounting portion 26 so that package cover 24 may be moved upwardly anddownwardly as well as rotated relative to container head 15. It should,of course, be understood that depending skirt 28 should be of a lengthsufficient to permit actuation of valve stem 87 when package cover 24 isrotated to its opened position and pushed downwardly. Extending inwardlyfrom depending skirt 28 is circumferential stop or lock 93 whichprevents package cover 24 from being removed or separated from containerhead 15.

Extending downwardly from package cover 24 is a depending arcuate nozzlecontrol member 29 (FIG. 4 thru 7) for rotating nozzle 13 from aconcealed, retracted to an exposed, extended position when package cover24 is rotated from a closed to an open position, as described in greaterdetail hereinbefore. Once nozzle 13 has been exposed, valve stem 87 canbe actuated by pusher 38 depending downwardly from a central portion ofpackage cover 24 which forces nozzle 13 and stationary adaptor 82downwardly when package cover 24 is depressed. After dispensing aselected amount of the aerosol product, package cover 24 can be rotatedto its closed position to retract and conceal nozzle 13 and preventnozzle 13 from being accidentally actuated via stop 35.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangementof the invention and without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention, and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to beunderstood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrativeand not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:
 1. A pump dispenserpackage for a fluent material comprising:a body having a hollow interiorfor receiving the fluent material the hollow interior of said body beingin communication with atmosphere; a hollow pump chamber having first andsecond openings and interior walls, said pump chamber being mounted onone end of said body; a reciprocating hollow pump wherein one endthereof is inserted into the interior of said pump chamber through thefirst opening, said pump slideably and sealingly engaging the interiorwalls of said pump chamber during reciprocation of said pump; a nozzlehaving an outlet, said nozzle being positioned at the opposite end ofsaid pump and in communication with the interior of said pump chambervia said pump; a hollow tube connected to one end of said pump chamberfor providing a passageway for the fluent material in said body intosaid pump chamber via the second opening; means for selectively closingthe second opening of said pump chamber; a hollow cover mounted on saidbody adjacent said nozzle for rotational and reciprocal motion; saidcover operatively coupled to said pump for reciprocating said pump; andmeans for moving said nozzle outlet into and out of said cover duringthe rotary movement of said cover.
 2. A package as recited in claim 1which further comprises means for covering said nozzle outlet when saidnozzle is within said cover.
 3. A package as recited in claim 1 in whichsaid nozzle moving means comprises an eccentric mounting on said coverfor said pump on said body.
 4. A package as recited in claim 1 whichfurther comprises resilient spring means for urging said pump in adirection away from the fluent material.
 5. A package as recited inclaim 1 in which said cover comprises an aperture for passing saidnozzle outlet to a dispensing position.
 6. A package as recited in claim1 in which said cover comprises a top, a depending skirt, and a pumppusher on the underside of said top.
 7. A package as recited in claim 1in which said pump chamber includes upper and lower chambers and saidpump further includes sealing means for sealingly engaging the innerwalls of the upper chamber and fins for slideably engaging the innerwalls of the lower chamber, so that when said pump is reciprocated, saidfins guide said pump and prevent said sealing means from disengaging theinner walls of the upper pump chamber.
 8. A package as recited in claim1 which further comprises a venting gasket for communicating said bodywith atmosphere.
 9. A package as recited in claim 7 wherein said closingmeans is a ball check valve located within the lower chamber of saidpump chamber.
 10. A package as recited in claim 1 in which said pumpchamber includes upper and lower chambers and said pump further includessealing means for sealingly engaging the inner walls of the lowerchamber and fins for slideably engaging the inner walls of the upperchamber, so that when said pump is reciprocated, said fins guide saidpump and prevent said sealing means from disengaging the inner walls ofthe upper pump chamber.
 11. A package as recited in claim 9 wherein thelower chamber of said pump chamber further includes venting means forselectively communicating the interior of said body with atmosphere,said venting means communicating said body when said pump is urged in adirection toward the fluent material in said body and being sealed bysaid sealing means when said pump is urged in a direction away from thefluent material in said body.
 12. A package as recited in claim 7wherein the upper chamber of said pump chamber further includes ventingmeans for selectively communicating the interior of said body withatmosphere, said venting means being located on the upper chamber suchthat when said pump is urged away from the fluent material in said bodysaid venting means is closed to atmosphere and when said pump is urgedtoward the fluent material in said body said venting means is open tosaid atmosphere for communicating the interior of said body withatmosphere.
 13. A pump dispenser package for a fluent materialcomprising:a body having a hollow interior for receiving the fluentmaterial, the hollow interior of said body being in communication withatmosphere; piston means mounted on one end of said body and comprisinga reciprocating pump and pump chamber, said pump sealingly and slideablyfitting within said pump chamber having first and second openings, oneend of said pump being inserted into said pump chamber through saidfirst opening; a nozzle having an outlet, said nozzle being positionedon the opposite end of said pump and in communication with the interiorof said pump chamber via said pump; means connected to said pump chamberfor providing a passageway for the fluent material in said body to saidpump chamber via the second opening; means for selectively closing thesecond opening of the pump chamber; a hollow cover mounted on said bodyadjacent said nozzle for rotational and reciprocable motion; said coveroperatively coupled to said pump for reciprocating said pump; and meansfor moving said nozzle outlet into and out of said cover during a rotarymovement of said cover.
 14. A package as recited in claim 13 whichfurther comprises means for covering said nozzle outlet when said nozzleis within said cover.
 15. A package as recited in claim 13 in which saidnozzle moving means comprises an eccentric mounting on said cover forsaid pump on said body.
 16. A package as recited in claim 13 whichfurther comprises resilient spring means for urging said pump in adirection away from the fluent material in said body.
 17. A package asrecited in claim 13 in which said cover comprises an aperture forpassing said nozzle to a dispensing position.
 18. A package as recitedin claim 13 in which said cover comprises a top, a depending skirt, anda pump pusher on the underside of said top.
 19. A package as recited inclaim 13 which further comprises venting means for communicating thehollow interior of said body with atmosphere.